Today was a weird day for Mitt Romney because he got endorsed by the singer Meatloaf. This was at an event in Defiance, OH.

The nation was stunned by a bizarre out-of-tune screeching rendition of America the Beautiful by Mr. Loaf.

Meatloaf was accompanied in the song by the country act "Big & Rich". Gov. Romney was visibly uncomfortable on the stage during the incident, laughing nervously. Supposedly it is like Romney's favorite song.

Many unanswered questions remained after the endorsement/performance.

Why did Romney decide to appear on stage with Meatloaf? Probably Romney is just jealous because Pres. Obama has so many rock stars supporting him. Stars like Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen are doing shows for Obama.

When Romney's handlers told him he would be on the stage with Meatloaf, did he realize they were talking about the singer? Maybe he thought it was supposed to be an endorsement from an agricultural organization? This is a possibility since an internet search did find that meatloaf is permitted in the Mormon faith. (http://www.bing.com/search?q=can+mormons+eat+meatloaf)

Meat Loaf said he has never taken a public stand but said 2012 is the most important election in the history of the U.S.

"One thing you've been taught all your life is never argue politics or religion with your friends. 2012 is different," he said, telling people to argue on Mr. Romney's behalf. "I called three Democrats and got two of them to switch to Romney, so two out of three ain't bad."

This doesn't really shed any light on it. But it's pretty clear Meatloaf is a washed up singer who was never really very popular in the first place so he's just trying to do anything to get in the newspapers. If he endorsed Obama nobody would even notice since Obama already has The Boss, Pearl Jam, and Kanye.

But by endorsing Romney he gets to be pretty much the biggest musical act in Romney's camp.

It is not known whether Romney actually called Meatloaf to ask for his endorsement, or just who he thinks this would appeal to, or who is responsible for this. This is what happens when you have no common sense and overly rely on market research and focus groups to make decisions. Meatloaf probably tested well in a focus group or in a poll. It's also possible the people taking the poll thought they were voting for meatloaf the food, not Meatloaf.

Which singer will Romney appear with next?The best choice would probably be either Vanilla Ice or Ted Nugent.

As wrong as it is, Meatloafgate could actually be a deciding factor in the US presidential election. We won't know until tomorrow's tracking polls are published but it is possible that Romney's popularity among hardcore Meatloaf fans will lead to a slight uptick in his polling, which could amount to a .0001% gain. Yet more people actually dislike Meatloaf than like him, which is weird for a singer. Usually people will just be indifferent if they aren't "into" something.

When Walmart workers speak out for change, Walmart has sought to silence and intimidate them. But now they’re fighting back. Many have already walked out on strike and many more promise to make this Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, a memorable one of the company.

We all know that Walmart doesn’t pay its workers well. To miss a day of work (especially a day with additional holiday pay) means that many workers will lose out on valuable dollars right as the holiday season approaches.

But with your help, these brave workers won’t have to bare the financial burden alone. Your donations will go to Walmart strikers as food cards to cover the amount of hours they lose as a result of the strike.

In June of 2011, nearly 100 Associates representing thousands of OUR Walmart members from across the United States came to the Walmart Home Office in Bentonville, Ark., and presented a Declaration of Respect to Walmart executive management. The Declaration calls on Walmart to:

Listen to us, the Associates

Have respect for the individual

Recognize freedom of association and freedom of speech

Fix the Open Door policy

Pay a minimum of $13/hour and make full-time jobs available for Associates who want them

Create dependable, predictable work schedules

Provide affordable healthcare

Provide every Associate with a policy manual, ensure equal enforcement of policy and no discrimination, and give every Associate equal opportunity to succeed and advance in his or her career

Provide wages and benefits that ensure that no Associate has to rely on government assistance.

Adopting this Declaration will make Walmart a better company for Associates, customers and the communities in which it operates. As Sam Walton said, “Share your profits with all your Associates, and treat them as partners.”

SINGAPORE–The top U.S. trade negotiator said he doesn’t see plans for an Asia-only trade pact that would bind China and Japan to other economies throughout the region as a threat to U.S. economic interests.

Instead, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said he wants to accelerate efforts to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which includes a handful of Southeast Asian countries but excludes China and Japan, at least for now.

“I am reasonably confident we’ll get the TPP finished before the comes into being” Mr. Kirk said in a telephone interview Sunday, even though discussions about a free trade area across Asia have gathered momentum recently.

Mr. Kirk spoke from Hanoi, where he met with Vietnamese officials after taking part in a meeting of economic chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia.
...

...Free and Fair Trade. We have also sought to promote free and fair trade. Because of the economic dynamism of the Asia-Pacific region, which is already home to more than half the global economy, expanding trade with that region is critical to creating jobs and opportunities for the American people. Building on the free trade agreement with South Korea that President Obama signed, we are working with our partners in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum to create a seamless regional economy, promote green growth, and coordinate regulatory reform. Alongside Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam, we are on track to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a historic high-standard agreement that will address new and emerging trade issues, lower barriers to the free flow of trade and investment, increase exports, and create more American jobs. Exploring opportunities to shape the multilateral trading system to reflect the role and responsibility of major emerging markets in the global economy is a critical part of the President’s trade agenda...